Why do you think Pinellas is making slower progress?

Today's story listed a handful of theories about why Pinellas students, on the whole, are not making as much progress as students in other big Florida districts (according to a decade's worth of FCAT data). But we know we only scratched the surface, and that parents, teachers and plenty of other folks have plenty of other theories worth chewing on. So please, share your theory and point to the evidence, or give an explanatory thumbs up or thumbs down to the ideas floated in the story. For what it's worth, we attached some of the data we referenced:

* A spreadsheet from the state Department of Education that shows the number of industry certifications, a byproduct of career and technical programs, earned by students in each district.

* A quickie spreadsheet we put together from DOE data that shows the number and percentage of students classified as disabled in each of the 12 biggest districts. It shows the numbers for students overall, and for black and white students.

About the blog

Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.